A pending partnership with Toyota and the Institute for International Education was announced at the Oct. 24, 2012 meeting of the Ann Arbor Public Schools board of trustees. Toyota has chosen AAPS to join a pilot program to advance Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education at a secondary level. AAPS is the only district selected nationwide to participate in the program.

The district will work with Toyota as they redesign their international teaching with a focus on STEM. A first team, consisting of curriculum experts from AAPS, will visit Singapore either in the spring or summer of 2013, according to Green. Singapore has been identified as a country at the forefront of STEM education.

The possible partnership had been mentioned by superintendent Patricia Green three months ago at a board retreat. From Chronicle’s report out of the board’s Aug. 1, 2012 retreat: ”Green mentioned that the district has been approached by a major corporation studying the world’s best education districts for studying STEM. There have been preliminary talks of partnering with AAPS to focus on connecting biology and STEM initiatives, with potential trips to Singapore, a leading country in STEM initiatives, paid for by the unnamed company, Green said.”

This brief was filed from the board room of the Ann Arbor District Library in downtown Ann Arbor at Fifth and William. A more detailed report of the meeting will follow.

MICATS (Michigan Coalition Against Tar Sands) is reporting that two of its protesters have been arrested for locking their necks with bicycle U-locks to pipeline construction trucks being used for the Enbridge Line 6B pipeline expansion. [Source]

In a roundup of the lineup for the Aug. 5, 2014 primary elections, we overstated by one year Ward 5 councilmember Chuck Warpehoski’s length of service as a council representative on the city’s environmental commission. He served in that capacity during his first year on the council. We note the error here and have corrected the original article.